There's the kind of fame that Madonna has, where paparazzi follow her around, snapping pictures.  I aspire to another kind of fame, the kind that Bob Ditter has.  Now, unless you're a camp director, you probably haven't heard of Bob Ditter.  He's an advice columnist who gives advice to camp directors.   He's written a couple of books, and he's a consultant.  I'm sure that Ditter goes through his normal life, never being recognized.  But when he's at camp director conferences put on by the American Camp Association, people know who he is.  His presentations are always packed -- at least the ones I've attended.  

Academics may be more prone to this nerdy kind of fame, although perhaps it's just as likely in other fields.  Or maybe it's just me.  I'm still too shy, for instance, to talk to Diane Samdahl without kicking myself later for sounding stupid.  I'm also really excited because the owner of the Carolina Phoenix, a semi-pro women's tackle football team, is coming to speak with my class.  (If you haven't seen women play tackle football, you should check it out.  There still isn't one dominant league, but go check with the IWFL or the NWFA and see if there's a team in your area.)

Even running bloggers have this kind of fame.  I would guess that a good chunk of us have heard of Vanilla over at Half-Fast (and if you haven't seen him dancing in a gorilla costume, you're really missing something).  Amy and Tom have put tons of work into making the Runner's Lounge a place to hang out, and that comes with a certain kind of notoriety.

It seems like being really famous is kind of a pain in the butt, but I would like the people in my field to know who I am someday so that I too could be famous like Bob Ditter.